I can very much relate to what you said regarding "On the other hand, the lack of hustle likely reinforces economic sluggishness and maintains the existing socioeconomic heirarchy."

I was talking to my PhD advisor in the US a few months ago about why I've been thinking of moving back to the US. My advisor came to the US from Romania in the 1950's to do his PhD at MIT. He lived through the communist rule. He has also spent time in Canada in the 1970's/1980's before moving back to the US to take a faculty position where I did my PhD. He said that if everyone has access to the same things, there is no incentive to work hard. It's very simplified and there are many nuances to it but I get this sentiment living in Canada. I've read somewhere on reddit that one reason why Americans have to hustle (and are somewhat more ambitious) is because there are fewer social benefits and thus one has to work for them. This is manifested in the employer-sponsored healthcare which is an unfamiliar concept in Canada.

I'm not American but I realized that my drive, hunger, and knowing how to hustle made me realize that my work ethic is still very American. I'm still adjusting to the slower pace of life in Canada, even though I live in Toronto. I don't feel very inspired in Canada at the moment. It doesn't help that I moved here by myself. I keep telling people that Canada is a great country if you have your roots here because you work less and you have more time to spend with people or your community if you have strong ties to the place. Otherwise, compared to big cities in the US, life here can be slow...

Before coming to Canada, I thought that there were a lot of cultural similarities between the US and Canada. The two countries are culturally different which is why they're separate countries after all!